Sales of existing homes fell by 2.2 per cent in the third quarter as higher mortgage costs and stretched affordability weighed on demand, according to property tech firm Geowox.
The group’s latest report on the property market also found that homebuyers are now paying a premium of close to €100,000 for more energy-efficient properties.
There were 14,787 homes sold (3,432 of them new) between July and the end of September this year, the report, which mines data from the State’s property price register said.
Total sales were up 0.3 per cent compared with the third quarter last year, driven by sales of new homes which rose by 9.4 per cent.
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Sales of existing homes, which represent most of the market, were, however, down by 2.2 per cent.
This comes in the wake of two interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank (ECB) which have squeezed borrowing costs.
The surge in inflation and wider geopolitical uncertainty are also said to be weighing on demand.
The median or middle price paid for a home in the Republic in the third quarter was €406,000, up 5.2 per cent on the same quarter of 2025.
In Dublin, the median price was €550,000 (up 1.3 per cent). The median price paid for an apartment in the capital was €407,000 (up 2.8 per cent).
Outside Dublin, the median price was €360,000, up 5.6 per cent.
Among main towns with at least 30 sales, Dublin city and suburbs (€570,000) and Naas (€518,000) had the highest median house prices while Wexford was the most affordable at €270,000.
In Dublin, Dublin 6 (€815,000), Dublin 14 (€790,000) and Dublin 4 (€750,000) were the most expensive postcodes, and Dublin 10 the most affordable at €339,000.
Comparing the same kinds of home in the same areas a year apart, prices (nationally) were up 4.9 per cent. This compares to like-for-like growth of 7.2 per cent in the third quarter last year.
The report also found that homebuyers paid on average 26 per cent more for energy-efficient homes.
The median sales price achieved for homes with a top Ber (building energy rating) of between A and B was €466,000.
This represented a €96,000 or 25.9 per cent premium over the €370,000 paid for homes rated C-G. The comparison leaves out new homes.
Geowox’s report comes as one of Ireland’s biggest home builders, Cairn Homes, said Ireland had “little chance” of scaling up the State’s annual housing supply to 60,000 units, the target level, unless half of all units built each year are apartments.
Apartment schemes face the most planning difficulties.
The Government’s housing plan has a goal of 300,000 home completions by the end of 2030.
Meeting this target would require completions to rise from around 36,000 last year to 50,000-60,000 annually.
On the supply side, recent market data has underlined the acute shortage of second-hand homes for sale.
The situation for buyers at the more affordable end of the market is even tighter, according to estate agent Sherry Fitzgerald, with the number of homes available below €350,000 falling almost 10 per cent year-on-year to 5,676 entering the second half of 2026.
